Tag Archives: whitney houston

On December 2nd, 2013, Eddie Ray Routh reportedly told his sister and brother in law that he had sold his soul for a new truck.

Those were his words apparently…”I sold my soul for a new truck.”

The pickup he was driving wasn’t his. It belonged to someone else and Routh’s sister and brother in law called the police.

The trial of Eddie Ray Routh begins next month and he’s on trial for murder.

It’s not going to be one of those ‘IF’ trials…it’s a ‘WHY’ trial as Routh has admitted what he did…we just don’t know why he did it. We all want to know…why?

Why did a troubled Marine who had brushed in and out of mental care shoot and kill Chad Littlefield and Chris Kyle? They were trying to help Routh. They were there for him to talk, work things out, ease Routh back into the world and provide him with friendship he could lean on.

But that’s not how it ended up.

It ended on that early December day when Routh, at a gun range near Chalk Texas, shot and killed Littlefield and Chris Kyle and then took Kyle’s truck and drove to his sister’s home. She asked about the pickup according to reports. Where did he get it? WHEN did he get it. How…did he get it?

For more than 10 years, I was a featured speaker at more than 100 DARE graduations. DARE, for those who may not know, is a program educating youth on the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

In those days, I was no more politically correct than I am today and once or twice, I was accused of being somewhat, harsh, in my direct language. I would routinely, at each and every DARE graduation, tell the kids, 5th graders, and their parents, that there were only 2 things drugs would do for you.

Over the last several days, since the death of Whitney Houston, I have noticed a rather disturbing trend in social media.

Many conservatives, and among them my friends, have been posting photos and names of soldiers who have recently died and scolding those who have posted thoughts regarding Whitney Houston.

Really?

I get it, to a point. I do.

A celebrity dies vs soldiers who die. I get it.

Unexpected death? Tragic end? I get it.

There is a difference and it’s not about giving one more credit than the other.

Houston’s death was expected. Unfortunately it WAS expected and people have speculated for nearly a decade, that her end, due to a lifestyle which laid waste to common sense, was near. Houston had messed up her life, and like so many other celebrities, she had people around her who simply didn’t care enough to stop her, or try to stop her.

Yes, she made her decisions and in so doing, she lost the voice, the looks and the talent God gave her.

I get it.

I felt exactly that way when Amy Winehouse died last year. It was her fault and she could well have done something to keep it from happening.

What I didn’t do then and won’t do now, is compare her demise with those who have lost their lives protecting our country, our freedoms and our way of life.

President Trump said Wednesday the administration is going to strengthen background checks and “put a strong emphasis on mental health,” as he promised students and families “we are going to get it done.”

Former top Justice Department official Rachel Brand, in an exclusive interview with Fox News, pushed back strongly at speculation she left the Trump administration over concerns she could have been tapped to oversee the Robert Mueller Russia probe.

Scores of students began walking out of their Florida schools Wednesday to show solidarity for the Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School shooting victims while pushing for tighter gun control in the wake of the massacre.